Drone strikes kill five 'al-Qaeda suspects' in Yemen

Two strikes apparently carried out by US drones killed five suspected al-Qaeda members in Yemen overnight, military sources said on Wednesday.

Washington has sharply intensified its air war against the militants since Donald Trump became president in February.

One strike hit a vehicle in the southern province of Shabwa, killing two suspected al-Qaeda members, the sources said.

A second hit a car in Marib province, east of the rebel-held capital Sanaa, killing three, they added.

Both Shabwa and Marib are largely held by Saudi-backed government forces but al-Qaeda has taken advantage of the ongoing civil war to step up its presence.

The Pentagon said on 3 April that it had carried out more than 70 strikes against militant targets in Yemen since 28 February.

Washington regards al-Qaeda's Yemen-based branch as the group’s most dangerous and accuses it of plotting multiple attacks against the West.

In late January, at least 30 people were killed in a US commando dawn raid in southern Yemen, including at least 10 women and children, in the first such military operation authorised by Trump.

The new US administration has not yet laid out a clear policy on drone strikes, but Trump has said he would support an escalation of the fight against militant groups.

The previous administration regularly used drones to attack Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other groups in Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Human rights groups criticise the tactic because of civilian casualties.